It seems that the ides of March affect people differently. In Mumbai, it sparked off a spate of weddings. The first to be bitten by the bug was aspiring actor (he makes his debut in Kailash Surendranath's Love You Hamesh), music video veteran and son of Rediffusion's Arun Nanda. Amitabh Nanda finally tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Akanksha Mathur. A former Lakme model, she too has as many double barrel qualifications before her name as her new husband. A trained make-up artist, she also worked as a stylist with ELLE for a short while. However, despite their many talents, the duo decided to keep the wedding a low-key affair - holding it in Pune so as to keep the event as private as possible. However, the select gathering was almost turned away disapppointed as the wedding turned out to be a near miss. The bride arrived really late - her party got lost - leaving people wondering if she was going to show up at all. That's what happens when you choose alien territory to avoid thecrush. Sometimes highly avoidable things happen to the people involved. On Wednesday though the couple made it to the venue on time since it was held on more familiar grouds. A glam reception was held at the Turf Club in Mumbai and the guest list included several race-goers as Amitabh's father, Arun Nanda, is also a well known racehorse owner. A fine testimony to his pecking order in the world of studs was the fact that beer baron Vijay Mallya made the time to attend. Also attending both the Pune ceremony and the reception at the racecourse were Aarti and Kailash Surendernath - they too seem to have promised to love him hamesha!- SUJATA ASSOMULL
